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Santa Cruz Sentinel August 27th, 2003
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Incinerator foes to refuel effort By BRIAN SEALS Foes of a county-backed analysis on garbage incineration pledged Tuesday to refuel their efforts after a plea to halt the study failed. "We're going to step up the fight," said Bradley Angel of the group Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice. "The supervisors are not going to hear the end of it." Bradley and about 15 other residents from Moss Landing to Davenport asked the Board of Supervisors to scrap the study during its meeting. That didn't happen, though. Supervisor Jeff Almquist, who urged the study in May, said the county is just gathering information as it copes with dwindling capacity at the Buena Vista landfill. He said the board would not pursue options with harmful environmental impacts. Results of the study are due in February. "Information and the generation of information is an important part of making good policy decisions," Almquist said. Sparking the controversy is the study of a plant that would burn waste and harness the energy it creates. Almquist said that was one of a range of options being analyzed to offer alternatives to "simply filling up a canyon with a bunch of waste." "It's not simply focused on incineration technology," Almquist said. But foes said the process results in dioxin emissions and that should stop the study from going farther. Dioxins are known to cause cancer and other ailments. "I urge you to immediately cancel all incineration research because all types of incineration are known to create toxic gas emissions and ash," Santa Cruz resident Deborah Klein said. Members of the group said they were willing to aid the county in finding solutions. Monaco Wilson of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives encouraged the board to push for greater waste recycling and reuse efforts. And though the study is aimed at a range of options, Almquist's mention of a potential project in Monterey County, at Moss Landing, drew the ire of residents there. The area is home to a Duke Energy power plant, where an oil fire raged earlier this summer, and is being eyed for a potential desalination water plant by Cal-American Water. "We're tired of being the armpit of the area," said Moss Landing resident and businessman Nathan Sawyer. Should it come to it, the project would need to win the approval of Monterey County officials. Monterey County Supervisor Lou Calcagno, who lives near Moss Landing, said last week his county was not interested in such a project. Meanwhile, the county continues to study potential dump sites to replace the Buena Vista landfill, which has about 15 years of capacity left. Almquist said it would take 10 to 12 years to obtain a permit for a landfill once a site is chosen. The county's rate for diverting trash bound for dumps to recycling and reuse efforts is about 50 percent, according to the state Integrated Waste Management Board. The county also contracts with groups like Ecology Action and the Valley Women's Club to bolster and supplement recycling efforts. ©2003 Santa Cruz Sentinel |